By Shania Obrien For Daily Mail Australia
10:29 11 May 2023, updated 10:29 11 May 2023
- Kayla Houlihan was almost scammed on Facebook marketplace
- Scammers demand money via PayID to ‘release’ funds back to the seller
A business owner almost fell victim to a Facebook marketplace scam four times before realising something was amiss.
Kayla Houlihan, owner of cult favourite brand Tribe Skincare, recently tried to sell her television on Facebook marketplace.
After only a few hours of posting an ad, she received four almost identical messages from buyers.
Kayla found that all the deceitful messages she received used a similar script that consisted of someone else picking up the item and them using PayID to compensate her.
She decided to reveal how the scammers contacted her and what they said to help prevent others from falling victim to the fraud.
Kayla shared a screenshot where a woman who was interested in purchasing the TV claimed her son would pick the item up as she was out of town.
The scammer insisted on using PayID despite Kayla specifically demanding cash.
Kayla also received three other similar messages that said other people would be picking up the TV.
‘At first, I didn’t really understand how it was a scam if I was getting paid,’ she said. ‘But everyone saying the exact same thing to me was really suspicious.’
Experts reveal that the scam is rampant with many Australians around the country impacted by the fraud.
‘PayID impersonation scams often target people selling items on second-hand websites,’ NAB Executive Group Executive and Fraud Chris Sheehan told Daily Mail Australia previously.
‘The scammer will push to buy your item using PayID but then claim the transaction couldn’t be completed because you don’t have a PayID ‘business’ account.’
He added, ‘They’ll claim they’ve sent extra money to upgrade the account, send you a fake email as evidence and pressure you to reimburse them. But no money will ever appear in your account.’
The scammer often says they will pay by PayID now so their child, partner, or relative can collect the goods without needing to pay.
Data from Scamwatch shows Australians lost $260,000 to the PayID scam in 2022.
‘I feel like I still don’t get it because if anyone asked me to transfer money into an account so that they could give me back the money – I would think it’s really dodgy,’ Kayla said.
She added, ‘But it’s the latest scam, a lot of people have fallen for it and a lot of people are trying to scam others.’
Many claimed that they’ve received similar messages after posting advertisements on Gumtree and Facebook marketplace.
‘God, I listed something less then 24 hours ago and have had six of these messages,’ a woman said.
‘This just happened to me! Someone asked me to transfer $600 into their account and I blocked them immediately,’ another recalled.
‘My mother in law fell for this a few months ago,’ a woman sadly revealed.
A fourth said: ‘This has happened every single time I listed an item.’
